BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Bakersfield saw fewer drunken driving arrests and no deadly DUI-related crashes on New Year\u2019s Eve, a notable shift from the previous year.<\/p>\n
The change comes after 2025 began with a deadly DUI crash in the early hours of Jan. 1, underscoring the dangers impaired driving poses during the holiday season.<\/p>\n
This New Year\u2019s Eve, however, Bakersfield police reported just one driver arrested for driving under the influence during a saturation patrol. Officers evaluated 18 drivers, cited 38 motorists for traffic violations and impounded six vehicles. Police reported no fatal DUI-related crashes, a contrast to the year prior.<\/p>\n
Some credit increased public awareness and expanded ride options for the improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our 18 years of practice, we\u2019ve seen a lot of impaired driving cases \u2014 people getting behind the wheel with alcohol in their system,\u201d said Daniel Setareh, managing attorney for Setareh Law, a personal injury firm that launched a statewide effort to reduce impaired driving on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n
For the holiday, the firm offered free Uber ride vouchers across 19 California counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if one person got home safely and one accident was prevented, then this campaign was absolutely worth it,\u201d Setareh said.<\/p>\n
Setareh said the firm received more than 4,500 total sign-ups, including about 2,500 within a single day. Roughly 700 vouchers were available, and more than 200 rides were used statewide.<\/p>\n
Out of the 19 participating counties, Bakersfield ranked fourth in sign-ups, trailing only Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose.<\/p>\n
Alongside Setareh Law\u2019s initiative, Golden Empire Transit and Designated Driver Inc. also provided free or discounted ride options locally.<\/p>\n
Setareh said the impact of the rides likely extended beyond the numbers alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe assumption is that many of those 200 people had alcohol in their system,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout that option, they might have gotten behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Setareh said he hopes the decrease in incidents this year reflects a broader trend toward responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people are starting to better understand the consequences of driving under the influence,\u201d Setareh said.<\/p>\n
Officials say enforcement efforts will continue. A new state law recently took effect increasing probation terms for drivers convicted of manslaughter while under the influence from two years to between three and five years.<\/p>\n
Setareh Law said it plans to continue offering free ride campaigns in future years, encouraging residents to plan ahead and celebrate responsibly.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Bakersfield saw fewer drunken driving arrests and no deadly DUI-related crashes on New Year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-118523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-downtown","10":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","11":"tag-bakersfield-news","12":"tag-kern-county-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}